Love is blind, friendship closes its eyes
by CoffeeWithConsequences
Summary: After the Fischer job, Yusuf attempts to seduce Ariadne. What the end up with is not what he expected, but it might be something better.


Ariadne knew she should be mad. After everything she'd been through-everything THEY had been through-mad was the very least she should be. She should be mad at Arthur, who had been such a gentle teacher at the beginning of this escapade, but had let details that could have killed them slip. She should be made at Eames...well, actually, Eames was probably in the clear. But she could be mad at him just for existing. She should be mad at Cobb, for dragging them down into dreams they might never have woken up from without their consent, for putting them all in danger. She should absolutely be mad at Yusuf, who had drugged them in dangerous ways without their knowledge or consent. That part really got to her-she'd been slipped a mickey once, her first year in college. Thanks to good friends, she'd come out unscathed, but the feeling of betrayal and invasion she had now was the same one she'd had then.

Mostly, though, she wasn't mad. She was elated, because they'd done the impossible, and they'd all come out the other side. She was glad for Cobb, much as she'd be fine with never seeing his smug face again. She was beyond thankful to find herself awake and with all her facilities intact. More than anything else, she was tired. She was bone-tired, the stress of not just the flight, but the last weeks of preparation, finally hitting her all at once. It was all she could do to drag herself to baggage claim.

Ari's original plan had to be to immediately book another flight and head back to Paris-she still had a semester to finish. By the time she'd loaded her luggage, though, she knew that wasn't going to happen. She needed some time to rest, some time to think about everything that happened, and some time alone. After spending nearly every waking moment (and a lot of her sleeping ones, too) for weeks with these strange, intimidating, dangerous men, she needed a break. Instead of going to the counter to book a ticket back, she hailed a cab and instructed the driver to take her to whatever decent hotel was closest.

When she got to her room, Ari didn't even take her clothes off-much as they were uncomfortable and not at all her style. She hit the big bed, face down, and was asleep within minutes.

When Ariadne woke up, it was dark and she was disoriented. The time change would have been enough to do it, without the whole being-asleep-but-in-mortal-peril aspect of the flight, and her intense post-flight nap. Until she checked her phone, she wasn't actually even sure what day it was. "OK," she muttered to herself, after learning it was early evening and she'd been asleep all afternoon, "now I get my shit together. Shower."

As she pulled off her suit-she'd like to burn the damn uncomfortable thing, but figured she'd better keep it, as it might be useful for a job interview down the line-Ari flicked through her messages. Arthur hadn't insisted they ditch their phones or anything high intrigue like that-when Ariadne asked if that was necessary, he actually laughed. "We're criminals, but not that kind of criminals. You don't need to go into hiding." She was glad for it-her iPhone was new and she'd hate to have to replace it, no matter how much money she'd just earned.

Most of the texts were expected stuff-her mom, a classmate asking where the hell she'd been. The last one, though, was a surprise. It was a new number.

 _can't get over what we pulled off. dinner?_

Ariadne frowned, pulling her stockings off as she tried to decide who the text had come from. Not Dom, obviously, he'd be with kids. Not Arthur, who texted with capitalization and would never use multiple question marks. She considered Eames for a moment, but it just didn't sound like him, and she had the distinct impression he was headed straight back to Mombasa after the job, with some other con on the horizon. So that left Yusuf.

As she showered, Ariadne considered how to respond. She'd like the opportunity to talk about the job, to tell someone about what happened in the last level, about her fear and what she'd seen and how it all felt. She knew none of it was going to be something she could ever share with her family-they'd be unlikely to believe her even if weren't confidential-so it would probably be a good idea to take advantage of having someone to talk to now. She also wouldn't mind giving Yusuf a piece of her mind about the shit he'd pulled with the drugs, now that she was calmer. They may have all survived intact, but what he'd done was still in no way acceptable, and he should know that.

By the time she was drying off, Ari decided to accept the invitation. She texted back.

 _Starving. Where?_

It took only a minute for his reply, a link to a restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. From it's website, the restaurant looked moderately fancy, so Ari pulled a short dress and sandals out of her bag. Might as well make the most of being somewhere warm. She twisted her still-wet hair up and put on only lip gloss-the heavy makeup she'd worn on the plane had been to make her look older and more convincing as a business traveler, and she was happy to be rid of it. She felt more like herself now.

Yusuf was waiting in front of the restaurant when Ari got there. He was dressed differently than the plane, too, in trousers and a button-down shirt, no tie or jacket. He seemed more comfortable and casual than he ever had during the job. When he smiled at her, Ari took notice of his dimples right away-she'd never really noticed them before. To her surprise, he took her arm in a courtly manner and led her into the restaurant.

The meal was nice. As Ari had hoped, they talked about every aspect of the job. Yusuf told her all about the chase in the van, and how anxious he'd been that it wouldn't hit the water in time. In turn, Ari told him about the time crunch in the snow, about Mal, and Fischer getting shot, and Saito bleeding out. She told him about how cool and calm Eames had been, and how terrifying it was to go into Limbo. Before she realized it, Ari had been talking for nearly an hour, their plates long since cleared.

"Let's get dessert," Yusuf said, brown eyes sparkling in the low restaurant light. "And talk about something that we didn't think would end in death."

Ari agreed. Over chocolate mousse, they talked about their families. Ari explained how close she was with her parents and sister, and how much she missed them while she was in Paris. Yusuf told her the story of his family's immigration to England when he was very small, and his parents' quiet disappointment at his choice to make his home in Africa.

"Do they know what you do?" Ari licked the spoon, then reached for her espresso. They'd split a bottle of wine and she felt just right, the comfortable, pleasant buzz of the alcohol and the rich chocolate and coffee all combining in a warm feeling inside her.

"No, they think I'm a chemist. Um...a pharmacist, to you, I think?" Yusuf shrugged. "Which is technically, true, I guess."

Ari nodded. She'd already been thinking a lot about whether she would do dreamshare work again, and what she could possibly tell her parents if she did.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Yusuf continued. "Stay out, if you can, Ariadne."

She looked at him with surprise. "You seem to like it."

Yusuf frowned, trying to decide what to say. "It's what I do, and I wouldn't change it now. But...your life will be easier if you don't't. Become a legit architect. Make beautiful buildings. Stay on the right side of the law. Don't lose your people."

Ariadne was quiet for a moment. She could see where the advice was coming from, but it still irritated her to be talked to like a child who didn't' know better. "Well, we'll see," she finally said. "I don't exactly think I'll be overwhelmed with job offers, anyway."

Yusuf's eyes widened. "Are you kidding? The minute anybody hears what you can do, you're going to have your pick. The work you did on this job…" he trailed off, then picked back up. "It was exceptional. Amazing. Much as I advise you not to do it, you're a natural."

Ari felt her face grow warm at the compliment. "Thank you," she said, finally putting her spoon down after admitting she had scraped every bit of the mousse from her plate.

Yusuf looked at her intently across the table. "There's something else I want to ask you," he said. "It's something personal."

Ari nodded. "OK," she said. "Shoot." She wasn't sure what he could ask that would be too personal to share with someone who had literally shared her dreams.

"Do you like men?"

Ari nearly choked on her last sip of espresso. "Do I like men?" she repeated. "Like, sexually?"

Yusuf nodded, seemed unperturbed both by having asked the question and by her shocked reaction.

Ari shook her head slowly. "Yes," she said. "I like men. And women." She shrugged. "I don't have much preference-or much experience-either way."

Yusuf looked intrigued. "Why not?" He reached out and ran one finger over the back of her hand. "You're beautiful."

Ari wasn't wholly comfortable with the conversation, or with the touch, but she still felt like talking, and it didn't really hurt anything. "I'm not...outgoing. I keep to myself, and that kind of thing doesn't just fall in your lap that often." She shrugged again. "I'm not a virgin or anything. I just haven't slept with many people. It's not some conscious decision, it's just the way it's been so far."

"Do you want to?" Yusuf's face was still calm, as if he asked people these questions every day.

"Do I want to sleep with more people?" Ari considered it. "Sure, I guess. It's just not really a priority." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Why are you asking?"

"Because you are beautiful and exceptional and I want to seduce you." He was still calm, but his eyes had widened. "And I didn't want to waste my time trying if you were actually a lesbian."

At this, Ari really was shocked silent. Never before had someone told her flat out that they wanted her. She had no idea what to say.

Seeing she wasn't going to speak, Yusuf continued. "If you're not interested, that's fine-totally OK. But I wasn't going to go back to Mombasa without having a go. You're too amazing for that." His smile was so open, so friendly.

"I...I don't know," Ariadne finally murmured. "I like you. This has been really fun, and I'm glad you asked me to dinner. But I don't trust you. I don't know if I could ever trust you."

"Because of the job?"

"Yes." Ari's anger, which she'd put out of her mind for most of the evening, returned. "You had no right to do that to us. We deserved to know what we were getting into. Drugging people without their knowledge is invasive and disgusting." Her voice pitched higher and she spoke louder as she ramped up. "It was like being roofied."

Yusuf's eyes widened in horror. "No, no, I would never…"

She interrupted. "But you did. You gave us drugs without our consent, with potentially unthinkable consequences." She glared hard at him. "Look, I like you. I could maybe have seen something happening with you, at some point. But if you think I'm going to ride the adrenaline of this job into your bed, while knowing that less than 24 hours ago, you drugged me and could have gotten my brain fried? That's not going to happen."

Yusuf slowly nodded. "I understand." He looked ashamed. "I am really very sorry, Ariadne. I truly didn't think of it that way. I went along with Dom's plan, because he was so very desperate, and I didn't think about what it meant to subject you and the others to the mix without your knowing what it could do."

Ariadne's mouth tightened. "OK," she said. There was no way she was going to tell him it was fine-it wasn't fine-but she did appreciate his apologizing, and she believed he truly hadn't thought through the potential consequences of his actions. She moved to get up from the table. "This has been very nice, thank you for dinner."

Yusuf rose as well, taking her arm again and walking her outside. "May I walk you back to your hotel?"

Ariadne thought a minute. "Yes, but you're going to leave me outside."

"Fair enough."

They walked in silence for a few blocks. When they reached the hotel, Ariadne reached for Yusuf's hand, holding it between both of hers. "I want you to know, regardless of whether I'm ever interested in you romantically, I hope we can be friends. I really do like you. And I'm glad you asked."

Yusuf smiled. He didn't look too discouraged. "I'd like that. You should visit Mombasa. It's a whole new world. Recreational dreaming, great food, great weather."

Ariadne nodded, smiling back. "I'll think about it," she promised.

For Ari, the next few months were full of changes. She struggled to make up what she'd missed, but was able to successfully finish her semester. She thought often about the Fischer job, and whether she'd want to do something like it again. As Yusuf predicted, she started getting offers of other jobs-not a ton, as they were all vetted through a tremendously particular and protective Arthur, but a few. She turned them down, wanting to focus on finishing school.

One of the new constants in Ari's life was Yusuf. He texted near daily, and emailed regularly. They spoke on Skype occasionally, and kept up on one another's lives. He made no more advances of any kind of sexual or romantic nature-they simply became friends. Ari didn't actually have that many friends, and she didn't realize how much she'd been missing out on.

At the end of the semester, Yusuf repeated his offer to host Ari's visit to Mombasa. The first time he mentioned it, via text, she didn't reply. One part of her very much wanted to go-she'd love to see the things Yusuf described, and she'd also like to spend time with him. The other part of her, though, was trepidatious. She'd come to some realizations about herself over the past months, hadn't told Yusuf about them yet, and was unsure how he'd react. She didn't want to lose his friendship.

Finally, Yusuf cornered her during a Skype chat, so she could no longer evade the invitation. Taking a deep breath, Ari steeled herself to the tell the truth. "I'd really love to come visit," she began.

Yusuf interrupted. "Great! When can you get out of there? Let's make a reservation!"

"Wait, Yusuf, I'm not finished."

Through the screen, Ari saw him wrinkle his forehead, hearing in her voice that the rest of what she had to say might not be good. "Before I come to visit you, there's something I need you to know," she continued.

"OK?" He looked at her as intently as was possible through two computer monitors.

"I'm...I'm not interested in a romantic relationship. Or a sexual one."

Yusuf nodded. If he was disappointed, he didn't let it show. "I had figured," he replied. "But that's OK. We're friends, right?" He smiled. "If you'd rather be with someone else, then I am happy for you. I won't bring it up again."

"No, Yusuf, it's not exactly that," Ari said. This was the part she wasn't sure about. It was still a strange thing to say, even to herself. She thought her friend would understand, but it was hard to be sure. "I'm not interested in a romantic or sexual relationship with anybody. When you asked me, after the Fischer job, if I liked men? I answered the best way I knew how, because I'm not a lesbian, and I don't like men any less than I like women."

Yusuf looked confused, but said nothing.

"The thing is," Ari continued, feeling stronger the more she spoke. "I thought my lack of experience with sex and relationships was just because I am shy and I never really put myself out there. But I'm realizing now, it's not that. I'm just...not interested. I don't want those things. They don't appeal to me. With men or women."

"What are you saying?" Yusuf didn't look angry, or disappointed, or any of the things Ari had been afraid of. He mostly just looked confused and a little concerned. "You just want to be alone?"

"No," Ari shook her head. "I think I'm asexual. I want to have friends-I love having you as a friend-but I don't want another kind of relationship. I just want that."

Yusuf was quiet a moment, then nodded. "OK," he said. "I don't think that changes anything between us, does it? I love you, and I love being friends with you, and I already had figured out that's what we are and that's how it's going to stay. My interest in you is in no way contingent upon you ever wanting to date me, or sleep with me."

Ari smiled. That was exactly what she'd hoped he would say. "But what if I never date or sleep with anybody else, either?" she asked.

"Then that is your business and I support your choices," he answered, without a pause. "I don't think I know anybody else who is asexual, Ari, but I it seems to me that it's just another point on the spectrum, and there is no reason I should have any more judgment of it than I do anything else on that spectrum. You not wanting to fuck anybody is no different to me than Eames wanting to fuck everybody."

Ari laughed. "Thank you," she said. "I have been wanting to tell you, but I haven't been sure how you'd react."

"You're my friend," he replied, his voice warm. "There was no other possible reaction. Now, let's plan your trip."


End file.
